Please Hold The Pickles

My husband really dislikes pickles. Yet lately, he orders his cancer-causing hamburger and it keeps showing up with pickles. OK, don't get worked up about the cancer bit, a hamburger every few weeks probably won't kill you (unless it's tainted meat), but he eats them several times a week. Speaking with a girlfriend today we both remarked on how hard everything is today. Things that should be simple are now difficult, complicated and full of add-ons or as I like to call them, unwanted options.

What's up?? Impossible to ignore the white elephant hanging out in the middle of the room, it must be the economy. As my friend pointed out, it brings out the true colors in someone, not just their best or worst, but who they really, truly are. How do you know the androids from the real humans? PH test? Truth serum? Do we really need to keep our guards up all the time, like a human shield?
In these strange days, I stick to people I know. Carefully, as if tip-toeing through land mine infested fields, I allow new humans (hopefully, not androids) into my little world. But it's a gamble, just like life. Treat others as you would want to be treated and hope for the best. And hold the pickles.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

An old dear friend of mine found me through Google this morning. It was a joyful, unexpected email. Now I'm not on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter, but I am easy to find online. Six months ago, my long lost childhood best friend from Spain found me through Google as well. Seeing her all grown up with her teenage children warmed my heart and welled up my eyes. As our wallets and spirits continue to be battered by this economic global meltdown, more and more of us are reaching out to loved ones, near and far, for moral support and a friendly face. Friendships are far more healing and lasting than financial gain. Friendship, for me, needs to be tended, watered and loved as a garden is. A garden will only give back and grow if attended to.

We all lead busy lives and sometimes our gardens are a bit unkempt, but as long as we remember to at least water them, they will be there for when we finally find time for them. Call, email, text or tweet someone you haven't heard from in a while, even if it's a short message. They will know you are thinking of them and bring a heartening smile. And while we are on the subject, how easy are you to find? Adding a simple Google profile will still preserve your privacy yet allow an old friend to find you.

What Did You Learn?

As any substitute teacher knows, we are not always welcomed with open arms. Students of all ages get comfortable with the teaching style and personality of their instructor, and don't always enjoy change. It is summer in Phoenix, which means we are all looking to run away from the heat. Vacation time equals more substitute yoga teachers (after all, we deserve a break too). In the fitness world, yoga students are viewed by many to be the least flexible when it comes to change. Odd, since yoga itself is about flexibility of body and mind! Maybe it is the nature of yoga, a body-mind exercise, that endears yoga students to their teachers. Yoga is also a philosophy, not just physical exercise. I remember every one of my past yoga instructors, as they each opened my spiritual path in some way. I don't, on the other hand, recall many of my past cardio instructors.
As a yoga student myself, even I am disappointed when my favorite teacher is not in the studio. Immediately my defenses come up and inwardly feel the resistance to change bubbling to the surface. My negative self-talk tries to bully its way to my consciousness and convince me to turn around and go home. Aware of this, I push this negativity aside and purposely choose to find one new positive learning experience from that substitute teacher. I usually walk out with at least two great new tidbits, whether it's different ways of teaching a specific pose, learning a new pose, better verbiage or feeling a new breathing technique. It may not be the class I was expecting, but I still came away with something learned.
We always learn something from a new experience, it is what we choose to learn that makes up our character.

Shaken, But Not Stirred

It's 6AM in Pelham, NY and I am shaken awake. As I unfog my mind, the guest bed I lie in continues to quake beneath me. I hop out and dart into the darkened hallway, bewildered. My hosts are already there, staring strangely out the second story window. They seem frightened, and now, so am I. A bomb has hit NYC, they blurt out. My eyes, still adjusting to the dimness of the hour, strain out the window expecting an afterglow or anything to validate their wildly insane statement. Nothing. I slowly reply that I think an earthquake just jolted us out of bed. By their looks, they seem to think that's crazier than a bomb! It turns out my first earthquake occurred in NY of all places. I was in Manhattan for four days back in 1985 and experienced an earthquake. Go figure!
When your foundation is being rocked, how do you keep from losing your footing? What do you hang on to when the ground beneath you is shifting, as it did that memorable dawn in Pelham? Finding a safe center and solid ground is not always possible out there, yet always available within each and every one of us. We just may have to reach deep down into that well of inner strength and grab a big handful. What is in your well? Prayer? Meditation? Deep spirituality? If you are not sure, these unsteady times may be when you discover what your core is made of.
Best of all, earthquakes don't last forever.